Many arguments for why America is still the reigning world champion as the land of opportunity: Thoughts and observations from someone who has lived in America for the past 40+ years as an immigrant
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| Zion National Park, one of our favorite places in America |
Tammy Duckworth: “The American Dream I believe in is one that provides anyone willing to work hard enough with the opportunity to succeed.”
Many years ago, a very close friend of mine was hosting a relative from South Korea. I don’t remember much about that particular relative, except that she mentioned how America, especially the areas around Queens (New York City), looked so dilapidated and run down, unbefitting the status of United States as the world leader in almost every major aspects of our current, interconnected world.
What struck me as odd hearing that sentiment was how uninformed she was about the world around her. Every major city has a downtown/city center where businesses and more importantly jobs are located, with housing & condominiums surrounding that city center. The further you move away from that business saturated city center, the less developed the areas tend to be.
In New York City for example, Manhattan is the heart of the city, with arguably Wall Street being the center of all things finance related. To live near there, everything is expensive, but you also get the convenience of being able to commute to work relatively easily and quickly.
The other 4 boroughs (Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island) support workers who live outside of Manhattan, making it a suburb of Manhattan. Manhattan, is where most jobs are located, so this setup makes sense.
Had Queens offered most jobs, then the situation would be different, but that’s currently not the case. My point here is this: Suburbs, especially the 4 outer boroughs are where most workers live, as rent/housing tend to be prohibitively expensive in the heart of the city that is Manhattan.
Of course areas in Flushing, Queens, which has predominantly Asian neighborhoods would be less developed with older housing and infrastructure, compared to the glittering, newer, ever-growing taller office buildings that take up the city’s famous skyline.
I would argue that every major city follows this pattern. Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has its newer office buildings concentrated in city center with outlying areas surrounding it, providing residences for workers who commute to and from it.
My bottom line point in all this is this: every city has a working class neighborhood, a city center with glittering skyscrapers, ghettos, and industrial zones. It’s absolutely naive and frankly foolish, to think that USA, just because it is the richest country in the world, will look like the aforementioned glistening, new, and impressive city center everywhere.
Growing up in Seoul, South Korea in late 70’s to early 80’s, I know for a fact that I lived in a not so great part of the city. It didn’t have any tall buildings, shopping centers, or even good infrastructure. Even these day, with the well known economic miracle of South Korea transforming the city into an economic and cultural powerhouse, there are still rundown areas in Seoul today.
The fact that every country follows this pattern is true everywhere, whether that’s the United States, South Korea, or India. You’ll always get a mixture of neighborhoods: affluent, poor, working class, middle class, as well as an industrial/factory/warehouse area, in any particular city.
Sorry for that rant, but I had to get it off my chest. I hate it when ignorant people make assumptions about something they clearly know nothing about!
With this rant & and rambling out of the way, here are my thoughts and observations on why America is still the undisputed leader of the world, where the notion of someone of humble beginnings, can make something of themselves by hard work. It is still the land of opportunity and the American Dream is still alive and well!
- Why do you think people want to move here to get a piece of the American Dream?
What makes it so attractive for everyone to want to be here? It’s the idea that anyone who works hard can make something of themselves. Case in point, myself. I was just another immigrant without a dollar to my name, yet I’m retired early and doing things I always wanted to do, like not going to work, and traveling this great country.
Thanks to the power of the USA’s status as the unchallenged financial hub for the world, the mature stock market here allows us to reap the benefits of letting the system work hard for us. It’s hard to see this working in many other countries like in China where the government controls what happens to the daily currency fluctuations and the movements of the stock market.
I’m just glad I’m here, and not elsewhere…
- America definitely has faults, but which country doesn’t?
- America has too many gun violence everywhere
- America is not safe to travel in or to live in
- America has huge income inequality
- Minorities are not welcome here
- Minorities can’t get ahead here
- Political infighting is getting out of hand
- It’s too expensive to travel or to live here
- Weather here is too violent; things like tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, are not suitable for living
- America has too many gun violence everywhere (We learned to deal with this problem by being smart about where we choose to live or visit. We don’t live in ghettos, inner cities, or anywhere where crime is high. We also don’t visit places like these. This is called street smart, and it’s effective anywhere.)
- America is not safe to travel or to live in (We don’t choose to live in or visit places with high crime rate. There are plenty of websites where you can figure this stuff out, like “City-data.com”. When traveling, we choose to travel during daytime, avoiding most crimes that usually occur at nighttime.)
- America has huge income inequality (You don’t think the so called “communist countries” like China have income inequality? Don’t be naive. The corrupt government officials have been living high on the hog for years on the backs of its citizenry. Sure, America has income inequality but it doesn’t mean you personally can’t do something about that. Stop blaming others or the so called system. Do something about it yourself to better yourself.)
- Minorities are not welcome here (Some of the people in America are indeed ignorant idiots, who couldn’t tell the difference between an Asian and a Latino. Some are bigots for sure. But that doesn’t mean everyone is the same way. Every country has its share of good people vs ignorant people. People are people everywhere you go. America is no different.)
- Minorities can’t get ahead here (Ahh, look at us? We’re just two humble immigrants from South Korea who didn’t speak a word of English, but made it through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. We’re living examples of minorities getting ahead here and living our version of the American Dream by choosing to retire early and traveling.)
- Political infighting is getting out of hand (This is a problem if you get into it yourself. Way we look at it, if you take the long view of things, then what happens right now isn’t all that important few years from now. We’ll be talking about some other hot topic. Like everything in life, it too shall pass…)
- It’s too expensive to travel or to live here (I think every country is dealing with some sort of inflation related problems the last few years. Sure, the grocery prices have gone up along with many other things like prices on real estate, cars, insurance, and such. Let us not be part of the problem by buying stuff we don’t need, and try to cut back on spending as best we can. Stop blaming everyone and everything for your problems. Take ownership and see what you can do to make it better.)
- Weather here is too violent; things like tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, are not suitable for living (Weather issues have been a problem for sure. That’s why we didn’t live in flood/wildfire/hurricane prone areas. We always have a choice: Live there and live with the consequences or choose to move elsewhere. I personally can’t understand home owners who keep building and rebuilding homes in hurricane prone areas right on the ocean and wondering why their homes are damaged by hurricanes every year! You can’t expect a different outcome when you’re doing the same exact thing!)
- America has so many great things about it despite all of its faults
- Upward mobility is alive and well
We were dirt poor when we immigrated to America 40+ years ago, but made it to middle class before retiring early and traveling. Sure, most things lined up in our favor, but this country allows anyone to study hard, learn a skill, get a well paying job, then start building wealth. We’re living proofs of this.
My wife and I both worked corporate jobs and as cashiers at delis/groceries and every job in between. At no time did America stop us from getting a job we wanted, a house we wanted to buy, or living the way we wanted.
I personally don’t think there is systemic discrimination against minorities. If there were, we wouldn’t have been able to get a job, buy a house, or get a United States citizenship.
We are proud to say we’re Korean-Americans, and we are glad we’re living here.
2. There are so many opportunities for careers if you’re looking at the right skills-based jobs
I myself graduated with a useless Bachelor of Arts degree in classical music composition. That is as useful as learning to speak Ancient Greek language in the 21st century. You simply cannot find a job that pays well with this type of degree.
What I should have done is to learn computer science, or learn to be a skills-based technician in the health care industry. There are fantastic careers out there like X-Ray techs, dental hygienists, or computer programmers that pay really well. You just need the curiosity to want to learn this stuff.
Were I to do this all over again, that’s what I would have done…
I worked all kinds of jobs that paid next to nothing (cashier, deli counter worker, tour bus driver in Hawaii, music teacher, singer at a nightclub). If you want a piece of the American Dream, learn a skill that pays well (over $40000 per year at the minimum), so that you can then start saving/investing that hard earned money to work for you.
3. I’ve always believed in the America as the “land of opportunity”
We bought into this and eventually found a career that allowed us to retire early. We had a rough start to our careers, working low paying corporate jobs that didn’t go anywhere, with no hope of ever getting promoted.
In our mid-thirties, we finally came to a realization that we really, seriously needed to think about our retirement. We could no longer just live paycheck to paycheck, living the same exact way we’ve been accustomed to.
I got an IT help desk technician job that allowed me to retire early after updating my computer skills set just prior to my job interviews. We finally settled down, and started planning diligently towards our retirement.
Taking advantage of the land of opportunity isn’t very hard. Learn a skill that pays well, work long enough to accrue your nest egg, spend less than what you make (hopefully much less), save/invest in the stock market, watch your investments grow, then figure out how you want to spend the rest of your life.
If that life is quitting your job to travel more, like we’re doing, so be it. If you prefer a more sedentary lifestyle of staying in your hometown to be close to your friends and family, so be it. Options are endless and totally up to you.
4. Mature financial system
Besides America being the richest nation on earth, it also boasts Wall Street, considered the safest place to invest your money. I would not want to invest my money in shady places where dictators rule, like Russia, China, or in places where the financial system is so fraught with corruption that I’d be scared to invest there.
Living here means Wall Street (and the financial system) has a track record of market stability and it has the full faith and the backing of the United States government. On top of that, American companies have always invented new products and markets, and I see this continuing in the future.
I certainly believe in the ingenuity of American companies to create new products and markets. Why wouldn’t you want to invest here?
5. A place of checks & balances for most financial transactions
Growing up, I heard so many horror stories of people in South Korea getting swindled by ruthless scammers who prey on the people: There were stories of people buying homes from scammers who took off with the victim’s money. Same goes for purchasing businesses where people would get scammed the same way. The reason this happens is because there are not many laws protecting its citizens.
When we bought our first condo in New York City, we had to hire a real estate lawyer on top of a real estate agent (and escrow agents) to make sure everything looked right. We were grateful there were checks & balances out there to protect people like us.
Thanks to America’s status as the preeminent leader of the free world, there are so many protections and rights afforded to its citizens when making financial transactions. This is without a doubt, one of the most important things I love about this country.
I still hear about people getting scammed in South Korea these days when they’re tying to rent a home, with swindlers taking off with victim’s deposits. I will say that we never ran into anything like that living in the USA.
You don’t think about the importance of checks & balances and of citizens’ rights & protections, but it is what makes America that much better than most countries out there.
In conclusion:
Whenever I hear only the negative aspects of living in or traveling in America, it gets me worked up. America, like any other country, has both positive and negative aspects. That is true when we’re talking about countries, but it’s also true for just about everything in life.
There will always be something good about a person as well as something bad, for example. Sure, America has its share of problems and issues, but which country doesn’t?
It’s important to look at something/someone/somewhere with a balanced view. Analyzing only one aspect is never fair to whatever it is (or whoever it is) that we’re trying to figure out.
Despite all of American’s problems, I still consider this place the best place in the world to live. It is a place where anyone can make it through hard work, sacrifice, and dedication.
We’re certainly thankful we ended up here and not elsewhere. We truly believe in the American Dream and its status as the “land of opportunity”.
Thank you for reading and God Bless America!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
